Applicant incorporates herein by reference any and all U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications, and other documents cited or referred to in this application or cited or referred to in the U.S. patents and U.S. patent applications incorporated herein by reference.
The words xe2x80x9ccomprising,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9chaving,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cincluding,xe2x80x9d and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.
Bed bases are used to raise mattresses and box springs above a supporting surface. Universal bed bases have adjustable widths that allow the base to support different sizes of mattresses and box springs, including king, queen, full and twin. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,920,930 and 6,415,465 B1 illustrate typical bed bases.
This invention has one or more desirable features discussed subsequently herein. After reading the following section entitled xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THIS INVENTION,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits. These benefits include, but are not limited to: a bed base including a manually adjustable crossbar that accommodates beds of different sizes, a ratchet mechanism that prevents opposed side rail members from moving in an outward direction away from each other, a locking and release crossbar mechanism for the crossbar, and a return for this locking and release crossbar mechanism that may use a spring or gravity.
Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims that follow, some, but not necessarily all, of its features are:
One, bed base includes a pair of opposed side rail members, and a crossbar connected between the side members. Typically, the side members are opposed to each other and parallel and the crossbar is connected substantially at a right angle between the side members. Usually, a pair of crossbars is connected between the side rail members spaced apart and parallel to each other. Each crossbar includes a ratchet mechanism to control the movement of the side rail members relative to each other. The ratchet mechanism has a locked position that prevents the opposed side rail members from moving in an outward direction away from each other and an unlocked position that enables the opposed side rail members to move outward relative to each other.
Two, the crossbar includes a first crossbar member and a second crossbar member connected together so that these crossbar members move relative to each other. The first crossbar member may have a finger element moveable between a first position and a second position and the second crossbar member may have a plurality of teeth. Typically, the teeth are in a series in a row side by side and face inwardly. The finger element in the first position engages one of the teeth to prevent relative movement between the first and second crossbar members and in the second position disengages from the teeth to enable relative movement between the first and second crossbar members.
Three, the finger element may be interactive with a spring member that normally basis this finger element into the first position. Or, the finger element may be mounted to move into the first position due to gravity to engage the teeth and is manually moveable into the second position to disengage from the teeth.
Four, the first crossbar member has a first end attached to one side rail member and may have a second open end, a top side, a second side, and a third side. There may be an opening in the first crossbar member. This opening is in the second side of the first crossbar member when a spring is employed to move the finger element and is in a bottom wall of the first crossbar member when gravity is employed to move the finger element. The first crossbar member may be hollow and may have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration. The topside of the first crossbar member may be substantially planar.
Five, the second crossbar member has a first end connected to the other side rail member. The second crossbar member may have a second end that may be received within the second open end of the first crossbar member so that the second crossbar member is telescopically mounted within the first crossbar member. This enables the first and second crossbar members to move lengthwise relative to each other. The teeth may be between the first and second ends of the second crossbar member. The second crossbar member may have a substantially U-shaped configuration and the teeth may be along an edge of one leg of the U-shaped second member.
Six, a manually actuated arm may be mounted to pivot on the second side of the first crossbar member near the opening. The arm may include a stop element adjacent the third side of the first crossbar member. The finger element may be connected to the arm to extend through the opening. The arm is manually actuated to move the finger element between the first and second positions. In the first position, the stop element is displaced outward from the third side of the first crossbar member. In the second position, the stop element is displaced inward towards the third side. The spring member may have one end fixedly attached to the first crossbar member and another end engaging the arm and biased to normally urge the arm to position the finger element in the first position. A portion of the perimeter of the arm may be curved. This curved portion lies opposite the finger element. The arm may have a pivoted end that lies between the third side and a fourth side of the first crossbar member when the arm moves the finger element between the first and second positions. These features are not listed in any rank order nor is this list intended to be exhaustive.